In pursuit of social justice: Tackling malaria misdiagnosis among children under five in Southwest Nigeria

Every 40 seconds a child dies of malaria, resulting in a daily loss of more than 2,000 young lives globally. Emphasis on prompt treatment with new and expensive antimalaria regimes has led to the neglect of accurate and reliable diagnosis of millions of children who are vulnerable to malaria parasites in many poor resource communities. Moreover, physicians in hospitals with poor resources resort to diagnosing malaria based on signs and symptoms that may suggest other illnesses. The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of maternal and physician diagnosis of malaria in a sample of 150 children less than five years attending an outpatient clinic in Southwest Nigeria. In each case of malaria-like fever, mothers' diagnosis of their children's illness are compared with physician diagnosis of the same fever followed by the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests to confirm that the fever is indeed malaria. In this presentation, we would report on the accuracy of malaria diagnosis in children that present with fever. We would also discuss mothers' perceptions about malaria and strategy to assure more accurate diagnosis to ensure effective treatment of malaria in children. The structural and economic factors that influenced the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests in this setting are examined. The importance of accurate and reliable detection of malaria parasites as a fundamental right of all children less than five in malaria endemic regions is discussed.